Coyote ugly

William Johnson poses with a coyote he killed about three years ago in East Kinston. Johnson said he has seen coyotes regularly in that region and believes the population of the animals will rise in the city.

Submitted photo

By Junious Smith III / Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 at 09:45 PM.

Wednesday, Kinston resident Mary Carol Cockey figured out a mystery of vanishing pets in the area surrounding Hardee Road.

“There have been a lot of cats in the neighborhood disappearing over the past 3 months,” Cockey said. “We had seen a fox, and thought it was killing cats. Animal Control set traps, the city hired an exterminator and caught a fox, but cats were still disappearing.”

The night before, Cockey’s neighbor saw two coyotes prowling around the area, animals with the ability to kill cats and dogs.

“If they have dogs or cats that stray out at night, they should make arrangements to shut them up so they’ll be safe,” Cockey said. “They can jump fences. In fact, my neighbor’s dog disappeared and she’s not a small dog. I doubt one coyote could’ve taken her down, but two might have.”

Kinston resident William Johnson has seen coyotes regularly on the east side of the city.

“We see them on the roads where they’ve been run over, at LCC and in the city limits,” Johnson said. “If there’s a piece of wood, they’re there. I’ve had some game where I would leave it overnight, and by the next day, the coyotes would have gotten hold to it.”

Johnson believes coyotes could be more of a problem because of their lack of enemies.

Wednesday, Kinston resident Mary Carol Cockey figured out a mystery of vanishing pets in the area surrounding Hardee Road.

“There have been a lot of cats in the neighborhood disappearing over the past 3 months,” Cockey said. “We had seen a fox, and thought it was killing cats. Animal Control set traps, the city hired an exterminator and caught a fox, but cats were still disappearing.”

The night before, Cockey’s neighbor saw two coyotes prowling around the area, animals with the ability to kill cats and dogs.

“If they have dogs or cats that stray out at night, they should make arrangements to shut them up so they’ll be safe,” Cockey said. “They can jump fences. In fact, my neighbor’s dog disappeared and she’s not a small dog. I doubt one coyote could’ve taken her down, but two might have.”

Kinston resident William Johnson has seen coyotes regularly on the east side of the city.

“We see them on the roads where they’ve been run over, at LCC and in the city limits,” Johnson said. “If there’s a piece of wood, they’re there. I’ve had some game where I would leave it overnight, and by the next day, the coyotes would have gotten hold to it.”

Johnson believes coyotes could be more of a problem because of their lack of enemies.

“There’s not a whole lot that eats a coyote,” Johnson said. “Without them getting run over or killed by a hunter, they will become more of a problem as their numbers get higher. I believe the population has doubled, if not tripled over the past few years.”

Many Kinston residents haven’t seen coyotes in the city recently. Virgil Emanuel, who lives close to Hardee Road, hasn’t seen a coyote, but others have discussed sightings with her.

“I did hear in my exercise class (Wednesday morning) they were on Hardee Road, but I hadn’t seen them,” Emanuel said. “My husband said he said one close by here a few years ago, but that’s about it.”

Dean Baker, golf course superintendent of the Kinston Country Club, says he and other staff members scan the area repeatedly, but haven’t had to deal with coyotes.

“We see the occasional fox, but that’s all,” Baker said. “Usually, we would call Animal Control.”

Although Animal Control can take care of pesky foxes, there isn’t much an employee can do when it comes to coyotes.

“We are prohibited by law to trap wildlife coyotes, so we would not be able to respond,” Lenoir County Health Department Director Joey Huff said. “We would have to refer people to ncwildlife.org. Only a licensed individual can trap for wildlife, including coyotes. Someone would have to hire someone for that.”

Huff did say citizens are permitted to take care of coyotes around their house.

“It is open season, so you can shoot and kill if the coyote is in the act of causing an injury or damage to property,” Huff said. “Coyotes are there for a reason, and it’s usually food. If people have persistent problems, that’s usually the reason, because the food source attracts the coyote. Some people have fruit trees and berries on the property or throw away their table scraps in the yard.”

Huff said coyotes won’t usually attack people, but precaution must be taken.

“They normally shy away, but they are curious animals,” Huff said.

Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.